A Chicago-based commemoration project for the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, remembering the victims of disaster and documenting the region's recovery.
Interview with Project Founder Yoko Noge Dean
Video Transcript
​Yoko Noge Dean: Hi, my name is Yoko Noge Dean. I'm the founder of Kizuna Project in Chicago, Illinois. The Kizuna Project is about the historical Japanese tragedy, the disaster. It took place in 2011, March 11. We started this project, right after the tragedy, to help victims of Japanese disaster, but I'm going to tell you now why I had to really spearhead and start this project. Many of you might remember because it was shocking. Very amazing images came through that evening, real-time, on CNN.
I think it was toward midnight here, and I had a call from New York, my coworker, "Are you watching?" I said, "What?" "Right now, you've got to tune in to CNN." "What?" "There is a disaster, there is an earthquake. There is a tsunami. Japan is having this terrible time, you have to watch. Turn on the TV," so I actually did it, and all those images came up. The tsunami was there, huge piles of water coming to the shore. Houses are pushed away off the shore like a little toy house. I was there, watching in front of the TV, and couldn't move.
The idea of my home country, which I never really thought about, because I came to this country when I was in my mid-twenties-- 24, 25, 26, something. I was freely going back and forth, Japan and the United States, and never saw all of this. Obviously, this was a historical event and we had to do something. I had to do something because I thought Japan was dying, my home country was dying. It's going to be disappearing, the people there. My guys, my people, my family. That pushed me to the project. That is the beginning of it.
Full interview Transcript
Yoko Noge Dean (YND), Project Founder, Jazz/Blues Musician, and Reporter, Nikkei Newspaper; Grace Richards (GR), Kizuna Archive team
GR: Could you tell us a little bit about how the project has developed over the past 10 years since you started?
YND: The starting point was Nikkei, the leading Japanese business newspaper published in Japan. That's my employer, and I'm a reporter for that paper in the Chicago bureau. When I went back to Japan-- annually, I went back, and I met my colleague, head of the photography department. He said, "I am planning to have a photo exhibition in Tokyo, London, and New York. Yoko, can you do it in Chicago?" I said, "Why not? [chuckles] Well, only you cannot only have all the spotlight. Chicago has to want to, and I'll do it." That's the start, because content. Nikkei had beautiful content of the very lively photographs of the event.
That's a starting point. First-year, we had all the content of Nikkei photography, but it gradually changed it to become Chicago's own project because we thought we needed to include local people. We needed to have input and include that connection of the people between Chicago and Tokyo, Japan, and Japan, overall. We wanted to reflect that into the photo exhibition, and also commemoration, the whole package.
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GR: Are there particular moments over the years that are particularly strong in your memory from the Kizuna Project?
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YND: So many of them. Was that Kizuna 5 or 6? Anyway, once I had a chance to travel to Tohoku because I had to take a photographer from-- A local photographer. Chicago photographer to Tohoku for the photo exhibition. I traveled with him, and for the first time, through my eyes, I saw what happened in Tohoku. I still cannot forget what I saw. Even though I think three or four years had passed after the disaster. In Fukushima, some towns, the moment was frozen. We still had images of houses literally crushed, and cars in houses, totally, totally-- It looked like the whole city, whole town, and whole village was movie set, and it's frozen in time. Even I remember the clock was pointing at that exact time.
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GR: Yes, we have that photograph from Kizuna 4, with Jamason Chen.
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YND: Right, exactly. Kizuna 4, that's where I went. Two of us had an incredible trip, and talked to local people, fishermen, and monks. That was a very-- Personally, a strong impact I got from doing the project. Also, through that project, I established a connection to local people like Shishido-san. He's a wonderful local photographer in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. He became one of the very important key people as a contributor to the photo exhibition, so that's another part of the connection over the years through the project was building up, it's not one-time, one-time, goodbye, goodbye. We were able to expand and connect to do a kind of future project, that was what was great about.
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Also, people in our local community, we were able to put them into the project. Some people never had anything to do with Japan, but we were able to let them know about what happened and what we are doing. I think it was great to have new people coming in, and those people established communication into Japanese community in Chicago, and also Japanese community in Japan, so sort of kind of-- Our village was growing over the years.
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GR: Shishido-san was also able to come here for one ceremony, wasn't he?
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YND: Yes.
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GR: So building those connections--
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YND: Yes, and he was so funny. [chuckles] He likes to drink-- Anyway, we are talking, and he said something about me-- "You are news?" I was like, news? Or something--" He was funny. [chuckles] Nice guy.
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GR: Yes, his photographs are beautiful.
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YND: Yes.
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GR: This is the last Kizuna Project to happen every year, so how do you think the commemoration of 3/11 will change going forward?
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YND: From now to uh?
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GR: Yes, from the 10th year anniversary.
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YND: We won't know. Every year, this is a voluntary project, and as a founder, I cannot go on without people, so I would ask-- Every year, I asked people, "What should we do next year? What would you like to do? Would you like to even continue?" I mean, it's collecting the will of people, so the answer is we don't know, and I don't know. One thing for sure is this will never be forgotten, and it's going to be living in some sort of form. Might not be the same, but the concept of having, sharing the memories together, is not going to die, so we will see.
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GR: Yes, and I think the digital archive will be a good way, yes. Part of ensuring that those memories are preserved.
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YND: Absolutely, yes. This is a great thing that I have to really, really thank you, and thank the people who are involved in this project at the University of Chicago. You are doing a marvelous job, and I want you to know how much we appreciate that, because this helps us to really realize the original-- Our wish in the original start point, why we started this memory. Memory shouldn't be forgotten, and you guys are doing it. Thank you.
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GR: Do you have specific hopes for what the digital archive might be able to accomplish, or just fulfilling that original purpose of making sure that the memory endures?
YND: Memory endures as a beautiful thing. I'm sure it's going to be very useful information someday for some people, either for research purposes, for academics, historians, or just ancestors-- Not ancestors, I mean the descendants of victims, or us, and for Chicagoans too. What happened in Asian community, how we reacted, and how people came together. This will be beautifully preserved.
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GR: Yes. All right, I think that is-- Oh, one last question before we get final thoughts, do you have a photo that is your favorite from all of the years?
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YND: Wow, that's very, very difficult.
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GR: It is, yes. Or you can choose a few if there are?
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YND: Well, that image of the time frozen is a very, very strong image. Also, because it's personal. I was there when Jamason Chen took the photograph-- Fisherman, the photograph, and also the kannushi [inaudible 00:09:07] Shinto shrines-- Kannushi lady, the priest of the Shinto shrine, that was kind of a beautiful image. How this Shintoism in a way helped the victims, and how stabilized people's mind after the disaster, and how they healed, same as another picture of the monks. Mine was more of the kind of portrait of people, and what are the stories behind it, that was important for me.
GR: Yes. I'm sure the ones you could be there for were particularly memorable.
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YND: Right.
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GR: I remember that photo of the priestess where she's standing on the-- That's a beautiful one. Okay, did you have any final thoughts on anything you wanted to share for the archive?
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YND: Well, this is my personal experience through this project, I think human beings are good. We have goodness in us, and when we believe in something, we really can do amazing things. I think that can give us hope, and whatever the project future generations come up with, I'm sure they will find a way, and they'll find people to help, and it's going to come true. My conclusion is, if there's a wish, there's a way. Also, for the disaster, for the victims, they were very strong, so I could now believe the strength in human beings, endurance of human beings, and resilience of human beings, and will of the people. That's it.
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GR: Great. Thank you.
Yoko Noge Dean performing at the 2011 fundraiser (top left), speaking at the Kizuna 2 ceremony (top right), speaking at the Kizuna 8 ceremony (lower left), and with volunteers at the Kizuna 7 ceremony (lower right)
